Is Digital Marketing worth pursuing as a career?

18 replies
Hello all!

I'm a final year business student here in Ireland.
I've specialised in Marketing throughout my degree.

I'm considering pursuing a Masters in Digital Marketing, I know a lot will say just go out and get working but.
- It's relatively inexpensive here, €5k and I'd be commuting from home.
- It's hands on, a good portion of the program is spent engaging in an industry placement where you put your skills to work.
- You can gain plenty of certs through the masters (I know you don't need the masters in order to do this).
- Most importantly, I feel the structure would really ensure I develop a fully fleshed out skillset.

But is digital marketing worth it?

- The pay is quite poor over here, most jobs are graduate jobs or require 3+ years experience and they're not well compensated for.
- Fear of outsourcing, it's often touted as a great career because you can be a digital nomad etc. etc. But doesn't that just lead to undercutting and outsourcing?
- Every second quack is selling a digital marketing course or at least setting up their own agency. I think most just see selling a course in digital marketing as either A - Easier than digital marketing itself, or B - Another profit generator.
Which in turn leads to a lot of people, taking a stab at it.. I'm sure some are naturals, but I know for certain that they all add to the competition and potentially lower salaries/profits.

My end goal is and always has been to start my own business, so the low salary doesn't really phase me.
But the other points are playing over in my mind..
What do you lot think?

Is it worth pursuing a career in Digital Marketing?
#career #digital #marketing #pursuing #worth
  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    Originally Posted by sean flaherty View Post

    It's hands on, a good portion of the program is spent engaging in an industry placement where you put your skills to work.
    Just because of THIS right here, I would say continue. I suspect the experience will be an eye opener in terms of what you were taught is marketing, and what that looks like in real world application.

    Originally Posted by sean flaherty View Post

    But is digital marketing worth it?

    - The pay is quite poor over here, most jobs are graduate jobs or require 3+ years experience and they're not well compensated for.
    I want you to think about this for a moment. IF you have the ability to "Digital Market" why exactly would you be working for someone else? College degree OR 3 years experience has "We are hiring LAZY AF People" written all over it,hence the low pay grade

    Originally Posted by sean flaherty View Post

    - Every second quack is selling a digital marketing course or at least setting up their own agency. I think most just see selling a course in digital marketing as either A - Easier than digital marketing itself, or B - Another profit generator.
    you are catching on.

    Originally Posted by sean flaherty View Post

    Which in turn leads to a lot of people, taking a stab at it.. I'm sure some are naturals, but I know for certain that they all add to the competition and potentially lower salaries/profits.
    Most I would say are not naturals... and as I think about it, I dont think anyone is. The low salary is based on low expectations as I mentioned above, think about who they are hiring - Lazy AF people, to scarred to apply what they "KNOW" to better themselves. These are people PERFECT to do what they are told, and make the gal/guy on top look good ( or bad )

    Originally Posted by sean flaherty View Post

    My end goal is and always has been to start my own business, so the low salary doesn't really phase me.
    Money should be the least of your concerns right now ( I know you are to young to understand that ) Learning how to APPLY what you have spent the last few years learning is worth way more tomorrow than it is today. The BEST way to do this is to work a few crap jobs #1 in Marketing, and #2 in the field you think you might want to open up a business in. The time doing this is WELL WELL worth it.


    Originally Posted by sean flaherty View Post

    Is it worth pursuing a career in Digital Marketing?
    Sean, when was the last time you read a newspaper or a physical magazine? If next week you were to open a business how do you think you would market said business? "Is it worth pursuing"? A better question in my mind is "Can you obtain your dreams and aspirations of opening your own business without Digital Marketing?"

    So if you were to hire a digital marketer tomorrow, what would you look at other than a resume? You would look at their social media accounts right? Start there for yourself, and start yesterday. You should have a killer Instagram account at the very least - the VERY least.

    Best of luck!
    Signature
    Success is an ACT not an idea
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11687968].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jmalic
    Banned
    [DELETED]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11687979].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Aaron Catolico
      I'd personally rather take those skills and work for myself to not deal with a boss breathing down my neck and make my own hours with own financial limitations.

      Originally Posted by jmalic View Post

      If you want an exciting job in a high-growth area, then you must definitely consider digital marketing!
      Yes, we need freelancers/outsourcers, but I'd personally rather work for myself than to outsource for others.

      Originally Posted by sadam tirmizi View Post

      Digital Marketing is a great job for freelancer and those people who are making their business.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11692588].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author WF- Enzo
    Administrator
    Generally speaking, yes it's worth everything.

    Also ask yourself - how will brands thrive today without digital marketing?


    Originally Posted by sean flaherty View Post

    Hello all!

    I'm a final year business student here in Ireland.
    I've specialised in Marketing throughout my degree.

    I'm considering pursuing a Masters in Digital Marketing, I know a lot will say just go out and get working but.
    - It's relatively inexpensive here, €5k and I'd be commuting from home.
    - It's hands on, a good portion of the program is spent engaging in an industry placement where you put your skills to work.
    - You can gain plenty of certs through the masters (I know you don't need the masters in order to do this).
    - Most importantly, I feel the structure would really ensure I develop a fully fleshed out skillset.

    But is digital marketing worth it?

    - The pay is quite poor over here, most jobs are graduate jobs or require 3+ years experience and they're not well compensated for.
    - Fear of outsourcing, it's often touted as a great career because you can be a digital nomad etc. etc. But doesn't that just lead to undercutting and outsourcing?
    - Every second quack is selling a digital marketing course or at least setting up their own agency. I think most just see selling a course in digital marketing as either A - Easier than digital marketing itself, or B - Another profit generator.
    Which in turn leads to a lot of people, taking a stab at it.. I'm sure some are naturals, but I know for certain that they all add to the competition and potentially lower salaries/profits.

    My end goal is and always has been to start my own business, so the low salary doesn't really phase me.
    But the other points are playing over in my mind..
    What do you lot think?

    Is it worth pursuing a career in Digital Marketing?
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11687990].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sadam tirmizi
    Digital Marketing is a great job for freelancer and those people who are making their business.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11688007].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author praetserge
    The pay is not poor.
    OK, it's low at first but once you get a few years of experience, you'll be getting over 30k-40k a year and it's the same for most of the jobs.
    You need to get experience first as nobody really cares how many degrees you have.
    Signature
    FREE $5 coupon for SEO Clerks - start building links (guest posts, niche eidts, etc) to your site for FREE. DM me for your FREE coupon. Only for new customers.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11692317].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author WF- Enzo
      Administrator
      Common misnomer. You see, these particular CEOs and billionaires with no degrees were funded by parents who have the money to fund businesses.




      Originally Posted by praetserge View Post

      nobody really cares how many degrees you have.
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11692679].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    nobody really cares how many degrees you have.
    That's a comment often made by those with no degrees. You don't have to have a 'degree' to succeed.....

    but.... a knowledge of business organization and management, of money management in business, and many other subjects commonly found when pursuing degree programs....can be very useful.

    "Others" may not care about your degrees but most 'digital marketers' don't want to work for other people but for themselves.

    I've known so many smart people who failed at an online business only because they didn't understand how to run a BUSINESS...or how to manage/control the growth and finances of a business.

    I would never tell someone they HAD to have a degree to pursue any sort of digital marketing....but if you have the finances and opportunity, additional education is always good IMO.
    Signature
    Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
    ***
    Sometimes I just want someone to hug me and say...
    "It's going to be OK - here's a horse and two million dollars."
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11692353].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      Sean, if your end goal is own and run your own business, getting good at marketing and s important.

      The program you mentioned is hands on. Which means you will learn how to position your business, send qualified traffic to it, convert a good chunk of that traffic. Does it?

      If it does, you are learning important skills for your business.

      Read the E-Myth Revisited by Gerber ( about setting up a business well).

      The money? It's piss-poor to amazing, depending on skills.

      You get people who are an expense and people who are investments

      You want to he the second kind.

      On the first part, someone who posts stuff to different platforms, for visibility.

      In the other hand, you have someone who gets hired to double a company's sales from their website.

      The first one makes peanuts to a a few hundred dollars. The second kind makes a few hundreds to tens of thousands a month, depending on the size and number of the clients. And then, you have to he ones who create products and systems that make them outrageous amounts of money without them working longer hours than the previous types.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11692378].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author IM2Pat
    Banned
    Great question! I would say YES if only for the fact that you would be extremely well-positioned to help yourself if you got bitten with the entrepreneurial bug! YOu would already have so many skillsets that sink entrepreneurs everyday...lack of digital marketing know-how!! Best of luck to you!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11692758].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mustangboss86
    good ideas
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11692809].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Joaquin Lamanna
    Being clear, the world is going towards a bigger and bigger technological change, with which digital businesses are more and more seen and more present, in the case of digital marketing a few years ago it was not so showy, however marketing was not it is only promoting a product or service, but in short it is a series of lucrative techniques that help to propel the sale of such a product / service. That is why large companies are what they are today and remain at the top of the market, because they have a specific department specialized in this area and invest a large amount of money in marketing.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11692961].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author aduttonater
    I enjoy the freedom that it's provided over the past decade or so. I would say yes.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11693415].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author spartan14
    You dont need a degree to succed but if you have a degree will help you if you want to work for a company in the future but if yiu want to work from home i dont see the point .Now its your choice if you want to do it or not
    Signature

    Admin note: Affiliate links are not allowed in paid user sigs

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11693417].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mayank palodia
    Yes for shore why not digital marketing course is worth pursuing as a career because this is the future because we all are going digital so this can be the best career if you intrested .

    Best career option to do.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11693902].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author samsonanointed
    I will say yes that you should continue in digital marketing. I myself have a certificate in digital marketing but the thing about digital marketing is that it is broad and you need a lot of focus and practicality to be able to put it to work for you.

    It is one thing to have the knowledge and it is another thing to implement the strategies to help you set up a business of your own and make money.

    Once you are able to conquer everything about digital marketing, the world of marketing and sales will be at your fingertip. As for me, if I want to start earning right away online, I will do affiliate marketing.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11694220].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author WF- Enzo
    Administrator
    So, what's your decision?

    Originally Posted by sean flaherty View Post

    Hello all!

    I'm a final year business student here in Ireland.
    I've specialised in Marketing throughout my degree.

    I'm considering pursuing a Masters in Digital Marketing, I know a lot will say just go out and get working but.
    - It's relatively inexpensive here, €5k and I'd be commuting from home.
    - It's hands on, a good portion of the program is spent engaging in an industry placement where you put your skills to work.
    - You can gain plenty of certs through the masters (I know you don't need the masters in order to do this).
    - Most importantly, I feel the structure would really ensure I develop a fully fleshed out skillset.

    But is digital marketing worth it?

    - The pay is quite poor over here, most jobs are graduate jobs or require 3+ years experience and they're not well compensated for.
    - Fear of outsourcing, it's often touted as a great career because you can be a digital nomad etc. etc. But doesn't that just lead to undercutting and outsourcing?
    - Every second quack is selling a digital marketing course or at least setting up their own agency. I think most just see selling a course in digital marketing as either A - Easier than digital marketing itself, or B - Another profit generator.
    Which in turn leads to a lot of people, taking a stab at it.. I'm sure some are naturals, but I know for certain that they all add to the competition and potentially lower salaries/profits.

    My end goal is and always has been to start my own business, so the low salary doesn't really phase me.
    But the other points are playing over in my mind..
    What do you lot think?

    Is it worth pursuing a career in Digital Marketing?
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11694500].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Profit Traveler
    Banned
    If I had the old time machine...

    Focus would be Business to Business.

    Recurring element in Funnel.

    Database Database Database. You will be Google and Social ban proof with your own Database of potential customers.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11695332].message }}
  • Yes, you should do it. I am a certified digital marketing specialist (Digital Marketing Institute Dublin) and I can say this certification was only the beginning of my path in Digital Marketing. You have to discover what area of DM are you interested in and start to develop in that area. You can than decide to work for a digital agency or perhaps start your own business. And if you are interested in starting your own business, digital marketing knowledge is a must have.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11695691].message }}

Trending Topics